The association of withholding or continuing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers on acute kidney injury after non-cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Withholding or continuing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers peri-operatively in non-cardiac surgery remains controversial as they may result in intra-operative hypotension and postoperative organ damage. METHODS: We included patients prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers who underwent surgical procedures > 1 h duration under general or spinal anaesthesia from January 2012 to June 2022 in a single centre. We categorised patients by whether these drugs were withheld for 24 h before surgery. We evaluated the association of withholding these drugs before non-cardiac surgery with creatinine concentrations that increased ≥ 26.4 µmol.l-1 in the first 48 postoperative hours (acute kidney injury). We also analysed changes in creatinine concentrations and estimated glomerular filtration rates. RESULTS: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers were withheld in 24,285 of 32,933 (74%) patients and continued in 8648 (26%) patients. We used propensity scores for drug discontinuation to match 8631 patient pairs who did or did not continue these drugs: acute kidney injury was recorded for 1791 (21%) patients who continued these drugs vs. 1587 (18%) who did not (OR (95%CI) 1.16 (1.08-1.25), p < 0.001). Intra-operative hypotension was recorded for 3892 (45%) patients who continued drugs vs. 3373 (39%) patients who did not (OR (95%CI) 1.28 (1.21-1.36), p < 0.001). Continuing drugs was independently associated with a mean increase in creatinine of 2.2 µmol.l-1 (p < 0.001) and a mean decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate of 1.4 ml.min.1.73 m-2 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Continuing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers 24 h before non-cardiac surgery was associated with intra-operative hypotension and postoperative acute kidney injury.

Effect of continuing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers on the day of surgery on myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery: A retrospective cohort study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of continuing of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) prescriptions 24 h before surgery on postoperative myocardial injury and blood pressure in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. DESIGN: A single-center, retrospective study. SETTING: Operating room and perioperative care area. PATIENTS: 42,432 patients who had been taking chronic ACEI/ARB underwent non-cardiac surgery from January 2012 to June 2022. INTERVENTIONS: Patients who discontinued ACEI/ARB 24 h before surgery (withheld group, n=31,055) and those who continued ACEI/ARB 24 h before surgery (continued group, n=11,377). MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome was myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) within 7 days postoperatively. MINS was defined as an elevated postoperative cardiac troponin measurement above the 99th percentile of the upper reference limit with a rise/fall pattern. Perioperative blood pressure and clinical outcomes were secondary outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: Among 42,432 patients, MINS occurred in 2848 patients (6.7%) and was the all-cause of death within 30 days in 122 patients (0.3%). Incidence of MINS was significantly higher in the continued group than the withheld group (847/11,377 [7.4%] vs. 2001/31,055 [6.4%]; OR [95% CI] 1.17 [1.07-1.27]; P<0.001). After 1:1 propensity score matching, 11,373 patients were included in each group. There was still a significant difference for the occurrence of MINS between two groups in matched cohort (7.4% vs. 6.6%, OR [95% CI] 1.14 [1.03-1.26]; P=0.015). Time-average weight of mean arterial pressure <65 mmHg during surgery was significantly higher in the continued group (mean 0.11 vs. 0.09 [95% CI of mean difference] [0.01-0.03]; P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in other clinical outcomes and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Withholding ACEI/ARB before surgery was associated with a reduced risk of intraoperative hypotension and postoperative myocardial injury, but it did not affect overall clinical outcomes in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Identifying patterns of lifestyle behaviours linked to sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions among young adults in South Korea.

AIMS: To identify specific patterns of lifestyle behaviours among young adults and examine the relationships of the patterns to sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions (hypertension, diabetes and obesity). DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational study. METHODS: Data from a nationally representative sample of 4562 young adults aged 19-39, who participated in the 2016-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, were analysed. Latent class analysis was used to identify the patterns of lifestyle behaviours, including smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and vaccination. Generalized linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationships among lifestyle behaviour patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions. RESULTS: Three patterns of lifestyle behaviours were identified: physically active (6.9%), high risk (21.5%) and passive (71.6%). The membership of these three patterns was significantly associated with sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, education level, occupation and living arrangement). Among the three groups, young adults in the high-risk group were found to be significantly associated with all three health conditions (hypertension, diabetes and obesity) while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that young adults are likely to engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours that are related to individual socioeconomic conditions, which could negatively affect their health conditions. IMPACT: This study provides insights into the lifestyle behaviours among young adults who have been recognized to be socially disadvantaged. This could help develop education and prevention programmes tailored to specific patterns of lifestyle behaviours for improving health while considering their socioeconomic contexts. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This applies to this research as the focus was on young adults in South Korea only.

The impact of pulmonary function tests on early postoperative complications in open lung resection surgery: an observational cohort study.

We investigated whether pulmonary function tests (PFTs) can predict pulmonary complications and if they are, to find new cutoff values in current open lung resection surgery. In this observational study, patients underwent open lung resection surgery at a tertiary hospital were analyzed (n = 1544). Various PFTs were tested by area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUCROC) to predict pulmonary complications until 30 days postoperatively. In results, PFTs were generally not effective to predict pulmonary complications (AUCROC: 0.58-0.66). Therefore, we could not determine new cutoff values, and used previously reported cutoffs for post-hoc analysis [predicted postoperative forced expiratory volume in one second (ppoFEV1) < 40%, predicted postoperative diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (ppoDLCO) < 40%]. In multivariable analysis, old age, male sex, current smoker, intraoperative transfusion and use of inotropes were independent risk factors for pulmonary complications (model 1: AUCROC 0.737). Addition of ppoFEV1 or ppoDLCO < 40% to model 1 did not significantly increase predictive capability (model 2: AUCROC 0.751, P = 0.065). In propensity score-matched subgroups, patients with ppoFEV1 or ppoDLCO < 40% showed higher rates of pulmonary complications [13% (21/160) vs. 24% (38/160), P = 0.014], but no difference in in-hospital mortality [3% (8/241) vs. 6% (14/241), P = 0.210] or mean survival duration [61 (95% CI 57-66) vs. 65 (95% CI 60-70) months, P = 0.830] compared to patients with both > 40%. In conclusion, PFTs themselves were not effective predictors of pulmonary complications. Decision to proceed with surgical resection of lung cancer should be made on an individual basis considering other risk factors and the patient's goals.

Prediction of Pleural Adhesions by Lung Ultrasonography: An Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: Pleural adhesion makes video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) an arduous procedure and can increase postoperative pain from accompanying adhesiolysis. For the present study, the feasibility of lung ultrasonography for the prediction of pleural adhesions and postoperative pain in VATS was investigated. DESIGN: Blinded, prospective, observational study. SETTING: Tertiary teaching hospital, Seoul, South Korea. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I to III) scheduled to undergo VATS were assessed for eligibility. After exclusions, 53 patients were enrolled and followed-up. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were evaluated with lung ultrasonography during deep spontaneous respiration before induction of anesthesia, and surgeons confirmed the presence of pleural adhesions during the surgery. Pain was evaluated using a numeric rating scale and by the amount of opioid consumption until 24 hours postoperatively. Lung ultrasonography showed acceptable predictability of pleural adhesions, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67-0.83) and high specificity (0.97, 95% CI 0.91-0.99) but low sensitivity (0.53, 95% CI 0.38-0.68). The pain score was not different between sonographic adhesion (+) and (-) groups; however, the sonographic adhesion (+) group consumed more opioids until 24 hours postoperatively (fentanyl 675 [558-805] µg v 420 [356-476] µg; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Lung ultrasonography may help with planning postoperative pain management in VATS; however, it was a better tool for ruling out rather than detecting pleural adhesions.

Restrictive intraoperative fluid management was associated with higher incidence of composite complications compared to less restrictive strategies in open thoracotomy: A retrospective cohort study.

Restrictive fluid management has been recommended for thoracic surgery. However, specific guidelines are lacking, and there is always concern regarding impairment of renal perfusion with a restrictive policy. The objective of this study was to find the net intraoperative fluid infusion rate which shows the lowest incidence of composite complications (either pulmonary complications or acute kidney injury) in open thoracotomy. We hypothesized that a certain range of infusion rate would decrease the composite complications within postoperative 30 days. All patients (n = 1,031) who underwent open thoracotomy at a tertiary care university hospital were included in this retrospective study. The time frame of fluid monitoring was from the start of operation to postoperative 24 hours. The cutoff value of the intraoperative net fluid amount was 4-5 ml.kg-1.h-1 according to the minimum p-value method, thus, patients were divided into Low (≤3 ml.kg-1.h-1), Cutoff (4-5 ml.kg-1.h-1) and High (≥6 ml.kg-1.h-1) groups. The Cutoff group showed the lowest composite complication rate (19%, 12%, and 13% in the Low, Cutoff, and High groups, respectively, P = 0.0283; Low vs. Cutoff, P = 0.0324, Bonferroni correction). Acute respiratory distress syndrome occurred least frequently in the Cutoff group (7%, 3%, and 6% for the Low, Cutoff, and High groups, respectively, P = 0.0467; Low vs. Cutoff, P = 0.0432, Bonferroni correction). In multivariable analysis, intraoperative net fluid infusion rate was associated with composite complications, and the Cutoff group decreased risk (odds ratio 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.35-0.81, P = 0.0035). In conclusion, maintaining intraoperative net fluid infusion at 4-5 ml.kg-1.h-1 was associated with better results in open thoracotomy, in terms of composite complications, compared to more restrictive fluid management.

[Identifying Latent Classes of Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Disease].

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify latent classes based on major modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis using data from the electronic medical records of 2,022 patients, who were newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease at a university medical center, from January 2010 to December 2015. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 for descriptive analysis and Mplus version 7.4 for latent class analysis. RESULTS: Four latent classes of risk factors for coronary artery disease were identified in the final model: 'smoking-drinking', 'high-risk for dyslipidemia', 'high-risk for metabolic syndrome', and 'high-risk for diabetes and malnutrition'. The likelihood of these latent classes varied significantly based on socio-demographic characteristics, including age, gender, educational level, and occupation. CONCLUSION: The results showed significant heterogeneity in the pattern of risk factors for coronary artery disease. These findings provide helpful data to develop intervention strategies for the effective prevention of coronary artery disease. Specific characteristics depending on the subpopulation should be considered during the development of interventions.